DEFILE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Defile

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noun

Defile n.

1.

Any narrow passage or gorge in which troops can march only in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass between hills, rocks, etc.

2.

(Mil.) The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior. See Defilade.

verb

Defile v. t. (Mil.) Same as Defilade.

Defile v. t.

1.

To make foul or impure; to make filthy; to dirty; to befoul; to pollute. "They that touch pitch will be defiled."

2.

To soil or sully; to tarnish, as reputation; to taint. "He is... among the greatest prelates of this age, however his character may be defiled by... dirty hands."

3.

To injure in purity of character; to corrupt. "Defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt."

4.

To corrupt the chastity of; to debauch; to violate; to rape. "The husband murder'd and the wife defiled."

5.

To make ceremonially unclean; to pollute. "That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile therewith."

Defile v. i. (past & past part. defiled; pres. part. defiling) To march off in a line, file by file; to file off.

See images of 'Defile'

Etymology of 'Defile'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Defile" Quotes from Famous Books

... the bed of a little stream, and then, passing through a narrow rocky defile, came out suddenly upon the side of a mountain, overlooking a blue frozen lake in the very heart of mighty hills. Overhead, the aurora borealis was shivering and flashing like a battle of ten thousand spears. Underneath, its beams passed faintly over the blue ice and ...

— Cross Purposes and The Shadows • George MacDonald

... delivery was made at the local stock pens; the cattle crowded through the narrow defile, were counted and weighed and paid for. The purchasing agent ...

— The Desert Valley • Jackson Gregory

... unbeaten whites likewise very cold. At morning freshen the yolks a little, then add the liquor, and at last the whites newly frothed. This is the only simon-pure Christmas egg nogg. Those who put into it milk, cream, what not, especially rum, defile one of the finest ...

— Dishes & Beverages of the Old South • Martha McCulloch Williams

... idea of morality centre on forbidden acts is to defile the imagination and to introduce into our judgments of our fellow-men a secret element of gusto. If a thing is wrong for us, we should not dwell upon the thought of it; or we shall soon dwell upon it with ...

— The Pocket R.L.S. - Being Favourite Passages from the Works of Stevenson • Robert Louis Stevenson

... hoped to cover in about a week. In fact, it took them ten days, for the roads were very rough and the pack-beasts slow. Once, too, after they had entered the territory of Venice, they were set on in a defile by four thieves, and might have met their end had not Grey Dick's eyes been so sharp. As it was he saw them coming, and, having his bow at hand, for he did not like the look of the country or its inhabitants, leaped to ...

— Red Eve • H. Rider Haggard

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